


The Great RWBY-JNPR Reading Week Kick-Off

by LilacNoctua



Category: RWBY
Genre: Drinking Games, Drunk Dancing, Drunk Semblances, Gen, House Party, Mom Friend Yang, Party Master Yang, Ren Dances, Underage Drinking, inappropriate books, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 10:04:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20356684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacNoctua/pseuds/LilacNoctua
Summary: RWBY and JNPR have some time off classes. They throw a party at which Yang is both the Party Master and the Mom Friend, the boys struggle with the dress code, Pyrrha is a sad drunk, and Blake may or may not be in the business of lending dirty novels to her classmates. Drunk semblances are dangerous but it's all good fun.





	The Great RWBY-JNPR Reading Week Kick-Off

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Author's Note: This story takes place between the end of Volume 1 and the beginning of Volume 2. It has no plot whatsoever, it's just RWBY and JNPR having fun and being kids. Please be aware that there are references to under aged drinking, sexuality/topics of a sexual nature, and some foul language. Posted on fanfiction.net under the same title.~

The students of Beacon had some time off in between semesters. In order to avoid the connotations of the term Spring Break, which was always a wild time for students of both combat and regular schools, Beacon Academy had chosen to refer to theirs by the more academic sounding term, Reading Week.

"Ha! Reading Week!" Yang chortled, stomping into the dorm room carrying a large box which was clinking and sloshing dangerously. She tossed her golden hair, "As if I'm going to do any reading this week."

"I'll be reading," Blake's face appeared over the side of her bunk.

"Yeah, but you're always reading," Yang said, at the exact same moment that Weiss piped up, "Reading week is for reading study material, Blake. They're not giving us a week off of classes so you can read porn."

Blake turned bright red and retreated behind a book cover which was very clearly titled _Her Sexy Samurai, _causing Yang and Ruby to howl with laughter. Even Weiss was giggling into her notes.

"Okayyy!" Nora's belted out as she rounded the corner carrying a large keg. "Yang, where do you want this?"

"What took you so long?" Yang scolded. "I thought you said you could carry it."

"I can carry it," Nora demonstrated by hefting the keg over her head. "I just had to make a little detour to prove I could bench it with both Ren and Jaune sitting on top."

"Oh shut up, you cannot," Yang protested.

"Yes, she can," Ren's long suffering sigh preceded him around the door frame, followed by Jaune. "Please don't make her do it again."

Nora set the keg down with a dull thunk and giggled in delight, twirling in place.

Ren, ignoring her, selected a book at random from the shelf and flopped on to Yang's bed to flip through it. He paused on a page midway through, sitting bolt upright, eyebrows shooting into his hairline.

"Oh no, he's found one of the dirty ones," Ruby squeaked. The cover was black and completely unmarked. Ruby had caught on that those ones were much worse than the ones with half naked models on the cover.

"Whatdoesitsay? What does it sayyyy?" Nora crowded in beside the still frozen Ren, to read over his shoulder. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

"What, let me see," Jaune hurried over from where he had been attempting to "help" Weiss with her homework. Sitting on Ren's other side, he clapped a hand over his mouth, his face going red. Their friends could see all three pairs of eyes scanning back and forth across the page rapidly. When Ren moved to turn the page, Jaune tentatively asked: "Wait a second, can girls actually even do that. . .like in real life?"

Ren shrugged, "If properly motivated."

"MOTIVATED?" Nora screeched. Jaune looked like he was trying to do complex math problems in his head.

"Yes," Ren said, matter-of-factly. "You see, in a situation where-"

At that moment a hand shot down from the upper bunk and snatched the book from his grip.

"Hey!" Nora shouted. "Give. . .I mean uhhh. . .you explain yourself, Blake Belladonna."

"I'll have you know that _Dust and Black Lace_ is a classic of the genre," Blake huffed, hugging the book to her chest.

"What genre!" Weiss interjected. "It's smut!"

"Erotica is an ancient and nuanced genre, with a rich literary history," Blake explained.

"Uh, what's going on in here?" Pyrrha had wandered in, eyes falling on Ruby where she was rolling on the carpet, red in the face with soundless laughter, combat boots waving in the air.

"Ren started reading one of Blake's books by mistake," Yang explained, slinging an arm conspiratorially across Pyrrha's shoulder.

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed and flicked from her teammates to Blake and back again.

"Was it _Dust and Black Lace?" _Pyrrha laughed.

"Yep," Blake replied.

"Did they read the part where the one girl -"

"Presumably," Blake cut her off. Pyrrha laughed.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune gasped, gaping at her like he was seeing her for the first time.

"I can't believe you're reading these too," Weiss complained.

"Well you know," Pyrrha lowered her eyes to the carpet. "You have a long, tiring, stressful day, you want something fun to read. Blake was kind enough to lend me some of her collection."

"Guys, you're being very rude," Nora had a manic gleam in her eye. "Ren was trying to explain something to us and you've all interrupted him."

"Okay, no. That's enough." Yang planted herself in the middle of the room, hands up as if holding everyone else at bay. "Nobody needs to hear Ren give us The Talk." She grinned mischievously. "Not while we're all still sober, anyway. Now, there's only a few hours until dinner and the party starts after. Lots to do still. Nora, you and me, snack run, now."

"Really? You're going to take Nora on a snack run?" Jaune raised his eyebrows. Ren was giving Yang a look which clearly said he thought she'd taken leave of her senses.

"Right. Ren, snack run, let's go." Yang turned on her heel and strode out, Ren following silently.

Nora pouted for half a second and then shot off the bed, "Oh I know, Pyrrha, let's hit the gym." The two redheads left arm-in-arm, Nora babbling about sit-ups.

"Wait, why do we even have a keg?" Weiss burst out as if the whole ridiculous scene had just registered in her mind.

"I think it's just soda," Ruby reassured, examining the label. She moved to look in the box. "Oh no, this looks like the inside of Uncle Qrow's fridge."

"How did she even get this?" Weiss waved her arms in frustration. "And doesn't she know we need to study? She's so irresponsible" She rounded on Blake. "Did you know about this?"

Blake only raised her book higher to hide her face completely, the top of her bow all that was visible. It was twitching slightly as if she were struggling not to laugh.

"Oh come on, Weiss, a little fun won't hurt us," Ruby placated.

"Yes it will!" Weiss snapped. She grabbed Ruby by the hood and hauled her towards the door. "We are going to the library until dinner. My leader's grades cannot suffer because of her reckless sister."

"Aww, Weiss, you really care."

"You are insufferable." Weiss' scolding faded down the corridor.

"Hey uhh, Blake. . ." Jaune stood up to peer over the edge of the bunk once he was sure they were alone.

"Yes, you can borrow it. But you bring it back in perfect condition."

"Thank you," he picked up the black book and scurried for the door, but paused on the threshold, turning, "Tell no one."

Blake raised one eyebrow. "Better stay on my good side, Jaune."

Jaune gulped, "Yes, ma'am." He hurried across the hall on shaky legs.

\----------

Everyone was in high spirits at dinner. Yang was recounting how, instead of carrying their snack haul up a few flights of stairs, Ren had scaled the building and pulled the whole lot, and then Yang herself, up through the window on a rope made of bed sheets.

"Whose bed sheets?" Weiss glared at them.

Ren held up a soothing hand, "Your thousand thread count is safe. We used Ruby's, they were already chocolate stained and full of crumbs anyway."

"Yeah, that's true," Ruby admitted, weakly.

Weiss rounded on her partner, "What have I told you about eating cookies in bed?"

"Lay off, Weiss, we're on holiday," Yang nudged her with an elbow.

"Be nice to Weiss," Ruby threw her arms around her partner, causing her to squeal in protest. "She's never learned how to have fun."

"And that's what we're here for!" Yang announced.

"YEAH!" Nora cheered.

"ICE QUEEN'S GONNA GET LIT!" Yang whooped, pumping a fist in the air.

"Miss Xiao Long," a sharp voice behind them made Yang freeze in place. "Please do not shout in the cafeteria."

Looking suitably guilty, Yang turned around in her seat, "Sorry, Miss Goodwitch."

"And please remember that the teachers are on holiday too. If I am summoned to clean up any of your messes, I will not be pleased."

"Yes, Miss Goodwitch. No messes, we promise." She assured as the teacher turned on her heel and strode away.

"Oh my gosh, you guys!"Ruby suddenly jumped up from her seat. "I've had a great idea. Listen up!"

Seven heads leaned expectantly towards Ruby.

"Pajama party," she announced, spreading her hands in front of her as if presenting a scene. Nora squealed and high fived Yang. Ren nodded sagely like Ruby had said something very wise and reasonable. Jaune and Pyrrha both laughed and counted themselves in.

"Could this get any more ridiculous?" Weiss protested.

"You know it can, Weiss," Blake hissed across the table. "Don't push it."

Weiss released a put-upon sigh. "Okay fine, since there's already an obscene amount of alcohol in our room - which I do not approve of, by the way - we might as well be comfortable while we make horrible decisions."

"Words to live by!" Yang cheered.

"Gods help us all," Blake muttered.

"Alright, teams!" Ruby exclaimed, now standing on her chair, one foot braced on the table, and a fist raised in a heroic pose. "At nightfall, we will assemble! In the Team RWBY Dorm! In our PJs!"

The rest of the group cheered heartily.

"Goodwitch's coming back," Ruby leapt off her chair. "Go, go, go!" She zoomed away in a swirl of rose petals. Ren slipped under the table and seemingly vanished into thin air. Blake froze in place and then disintegrated in smoke, her true self nowhere in sight. Weiss danced across the table and glided out the door on a row of glyphs. The rest were left to disperse in all directions as quickly as they could, followed by Goodwitch's irritated voice calling, "No dust use in the cafeteria."

\----------

"What are we even going to do all night?" Weiss wondered, stomping across the room in a frilly, pale blue nightgown, her hair let loose from it's ponytail. "Drink ourselves into oblivion and eat chips?"

"No, of course not," Yang reassured. "We're going to kick back and have some quality team bonding time. You know it's scientifically proven that a team that parties together fights better together."

"I am not confident in that science," Blake said. "But team bonding is definitely important. It can strengthen trust, synchronicity, and boost the coordination of our attacks."

"Alcohol is going to boost the coordination of our attacks?" Weiss shot back.

"Again, no." Yang finished setting up the gaming console and turned to face the other two. "Look Weiss, this team has been through a lot together, we've fought some Grimm and some real criminals, we've shared some really heavy secrets, there's been a lot to learn and a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to trust each other. But it would help if we didn't just focus on team building and fight strategies, but also on being friends

"I. . .I already think of you all as my friends," Weiss admitted.

"That's a good start," Yang enthused, "but we need to be the best friends you ever had. You need to know we've always got your back."

"I haven't really. . . had a lot of friends. . . ever," Weiss admitted.

Blake nodded, "And mine have all been. . . well, you know. . ."

"Aw guys, get in here, group hug," Yang launched herself at the other two girls.

"Wait, what!" Weiss struggled briefly, trapped under Yang's bicep.

"I can't breathe," Blake groaned, suffocating in golden hair.

"Ruby get in here! Group hug!" Yang bellowed as her sister came in from the bathroom in flowery pajama pants and a black tank top.

"Yes! Finally!" Ruby screamed, throwing herself on the rest of her team.

"I hate you," Weiss whined.

"Awww, bestie, you say such sweet things." Ruby planted a kiss on Weiss' cheek.

"Ewwwwww, Ruby!" Weiss turned bright red as Blake and Yang cackled.

"Did I hear the words 'group hug'?" Jaune skidded into the room.

"Nope. Moment over," Yang released her prisoners.

"Sorry Jaune, it was a Team RWBY thing," Ruby shrugged. "You can still have a team leader hug though."

The two embraced in a slightly awkward side hug. At that moment Pyrrha walked in, barefoot in a red nightshirt.

"Oh my, I see everyone is getting cozy in here already," she cast her eyes between Ruby and Jaune.

"It was a team leader hug!" Ruby said quickly, scooting away from Jaune.

Weiss interrupted any further awkwardness by interjecting, "Can we just talk about Jaune's pajamas _please_? Surely you are all seeing

this." They all swiveled to examine Jaune.

"So, you've noticed, have you?" Jaune puffed up his chest.

"It would be hard to not notice," Blake pointed out.

"It's even brighter than mine," Yang gestured at her matching orange shorts and tank top.

"It's a lot more fabric than yours," Blake muttered.

Yang punched her lightly on the arm, "Nobody ever complains."

Jaune's choice of pajamas was a shockingly green flannel onesie with a rubber ducky motif. He was wearing bunny slippers.

"Guys!" Rwby shrieked. "It has a butt flap!"

The five girls rushed to Jaune's rear to see that, sure enough, the seat of his pajamas was a flap that was fastened with buttons across the top.

"He's got butt buttons!" Ruby was near hysterics.

"Okay fine, get a good look everyone," Jaune grumbled, then wiggled his butt from side to side, causing another round of giggles and shrieks.

"Hey, why are we all laughing at Jaune's butt? Oh! Is it some kind of game? I wanna play too!" Nora bounded into the room in her favorite _Boop _t-shirt.

"Nah, we're just making fun of his PJs."

"Oh, well I do that all the time," Nora shrugged, losing interest. "Right, Ren?"

Ren just nodded, leaning against the door frame.

"Wait, why are you all staring at me?" he asked.

"What are you wearing under that?" Weiss demanded. Ren was wearing a voluminous silk robe in a soft green, pink flowers embroidered across the back and along the cuffs and hem. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"Ren doesn't really 'do' pajamas," Nora's grin was wicked.

"Nora! I am wearing pajamas. They're just very traditional and I'm told that they're not appropriate in female company."

"He means they're his undies," Nora's sang. Her smile became several shades wickeder.

"Look, as long as he keeps that thing on and has something under there to keep his little buddies in check, it's all good." Yang decided.

"Now, who wants a drink?" She strode towards the keg where it had been set up next to a desk laden with cups, and bottles of alcohol.

"Little buddies?" Ruby asked Jaune discreetly.

"Oh, Ruby. Your innocent ears are too pure for this world." Jaune replied gravely.

Behind them, Weiss smacked her face into the palm of her hand. She suspected she would repeat this action many times tonight. Blake patted her gingerly on the shoulder in solidarity. They both hurried to the desk where Yang was distributing cups of strawberry soda with tequila and lime wedges.

\----------

Having placed a drink in each person's hand, Yang stepped onto a chair and whistled to cut the chatter and gather everyone's attention.

"Party ground rules, guys," she announced. Nora booed loudly.

"No seriously, people," Yang insisted. "This is necessary. We can have fun, but we have to make sure no one gets hurt and we keep the property damage to a minimum. No one wants to get horse whipped by Goodwitch." She paused to fix them all with her best I-mean-business expression. "First off, all weapons stay in the JNPR dorm and nobody goes in there. Weapons and alcohol do not mix. Done?"

Everyone nodded.

"Okay two, no using semblances under the influence."

"Oh come on!" Nora whined.

"My semblance is harmless," Weiss chimed in.

"No listen," Yang insisted. "Between the eight of us we can control gravity, polarity, electricity and velocity, as well as mask emotions, create lifelike clones and activate a rage induced power up which occasionally involves fire. Throw in lowered inhibitions, poor judgement and a lot of flammable liquids and the potential for disaster is unbelievable."

Nora sighed dreamily at the thought of all that mayhem, but at a sharp poke in the arm from Ren nodded her acquiescence.

"Number three; no fighting, no sparring. Nothing good can come of it. Just keep your hands to yourself. Which brings me to rule number four which is. . .just keep your hands to yourself. It's team bonding time, not time to create a whole lot of awkwardness and regret. We're all friends here, keep it that way." She paused to sip her drink, glaring at Nora, Pyrrha, and finally Jaune, who had been eyeing Weiss' frilly nightgown.

"Next, nobody, and I mean absolutely nobody, pukes in this room. Drink lots of water, eat plenty, use Aura to heal yourself if you're feeling ill. Nobody pukes. And finally, if someone wants to stop drinking, if someone's had enough, we don't pressure them. We clear on that?"

There was a murmured round of agreement and then Yang raised her cup in the air above her head.

"To RWBY and JNPR! Coolest huntsmen and huntresses Beacon ever saw!"

This sent up a cheer and Yang chugged her drink down in one go as the rest butted plastic cups together and took their first sips, laughing and, in Ruby's case, cringing at the burn of alcohol.

"Let's get this party started!" Yang shouted, hopping down from the chair. "_Ninja Battle _tournament! Which one of you losers is first?"

"Oh, me!" Ruby volunteered. "You're going down, sis!"

"I play the winner next!" Jaune shouted.

\----------

After a hard won victory over Ruby, Yang had gone on to defeat Jaune (decisively), Pyrrha (swiftly), and Nora (without mercy). She was now locked in ferocious battle with Ren, which was going absolutely nowhere. Ren looked completely unruffled, sitting on his knees, with Nora sprawled beside him feeding him snacks in a two-for-her-one-for-him pattern. Occasionally she would lift his drink so he could sip from the straw without taking his eyes off the screen or his hands off the controls.

"Switching to water already, Ren?" Ruby asked.

"This smell like water to you?" Nora waved the cup under her nose. Ruby reeled back, coughing weakly.

"Sake," was all Ren said.

"So you're just drinking a whole cup of sake through a straw?" Blake asked in disbelief. "With a little paper umbrella in it?"

"The umbrella is cute," Nora insisted indignantly.

"I appreciate your drink pouring efforts, Nora," Ren deadpanned without taking his eyes off the screen. He almost seemed to be in a kind of trance.

"At least I don't need minions feeding me chips to beat your ass," Yang taunted. "Lie Ren, more like Lose Ren, amirite?"

Attempting to make a pun out of Ren's name had broken her concentration and Ren managed to score a massive hit, depleting Yang's stat bar by half.

"Yang Xiao Long, more like Lame Xiao Long," he said.

"You're both bad at this," Blake sighed.

"I don't think I've ever heard Ren even try to sass anyone before now," Weiss remarked.

"He normally does it without words," Jaune explained. "Nobody can burn you with one facial expression quite like our Ren."

"I've got your back, sis!" Ruby shouted, plopping herself down beside Yang, raising her drink to her mouth, and fanning her with a comic book. Without removing her mouth from the straw, Yang was able to land a combo which completely annihilated Ren's ninja, reducing him to a splatter of pixelated gore.

"This isn't over, Xiao Long, we'll meet again," he bowed and then moved away from the contender's spot.

"Blake, get over here," Yang called, patting the cushion Ren had vacated. The ensuing battle was short and bloody. Weiss' effort was little better.

"I AM THE ULTIMATE _NINJA BATTLE_ CHAMPION!" Yang cheered, throwing back the rest of her drink while Ruby and Jaune chanted, "Yang! Yang! Yang! Yang!" The rest joined in until they were all laughing too hard to continue. Blake smiled at Weiss and shrugged. So far this night hadn't been so bad.

\----------

"Does anyone know a good drinking game," Jaune asked. "Those sound like fun!"

"Yeah, grab me a deck of cards, paper and a pencil," Yang said.

Ruby found a battered deck of playing cards in the desk and handed them to Yang along with the writing materials.

"This is several games in one," Yang explained. We sit in a circle and everyone takes turns picking a card. Each card is a different task.

Okay, here, I'll write them down. She wrote:

_Aces: All drink_

_Kings: Boys drink_

_Queens: Girls drink_

_Jacks: Pick someone to drink_

_10: Waterfall_

_9: Truth or Dare_

_8: Never Have I Ever (1 Round)_

_7: Make a new rule, rule breakers must drink_

_6: Sing us a song or do a shot, your call_

_5: The Power Up Potion_

_4: Pick two people to trade clothes for one round (shot to escape)_

_3: Chug_

_2: Tell us about your best fight, everyone must drink every time you use the word Grimm or your weapon's name_

_Jokers: Jaune drinks_

"There is so much that can go wrong here, I don't even know where to start," Blake said.

"It's fun, just wait and see," Yang reassured.

"Music!" Ruby cried, wriggling out from under Yang's bed with a speaker.

"Now you're thinking, sis! After all it is a pa-JAM-a party!"

Ruby threw a pillow at her sister and put on some upbeat music. They all sat in a circle and Yang dropped the cards into a loose pile on the carpet between them.

"As the winner of the last game, I'll go first," Yang volunteered.

"I don't even know what half these things are," Weiss complained, looking at the list.

"I'll teach you as we go," Yang shrugged and picked up a card. "Hey, nice start, an ace! Everyone drink!"

The group all sipped from their drinks obediently.

"My turn?" Blake picked up a card. "Waterfall?"

"So, how that works," Yang instructed, "Is you start drinking and go as long as you want. Ren starts drinking once you start and Nora after him, and so on around the circle. Ren can't stop until you stop, and Nora can't stop until he does, and Pyrrha has to wait for Nora to stop, and so forth."

"That's kind of evil," Blake grimaced. "Okay." She pulled the straw from her drink and tipped the liquid slowly into her mouth. Everyone else followed in turn. Ruby was relieved when Jaune on her right side put his drink down so she could too. To her left, Weiss was watching Yang out of the corner of her eye, waiting for her to yield, but she ended up coughing and sputtering while Yang was still chugging.

"It burned more at the bottom of the glass," Weiss croaked. Ruby patted her on the back.

Ren chose a card. A nine of hearts.

"Truth or dare, Ren?" Nora was bouncing excitedly on her knees. Ren took a long look at Nora, and then gave Yang a calculating stare.

"Dare," he chose.

"Everyone but Ren, in the huddle!" Yang called. Ren retreated to the far side of the room and there was a hurried, whispered debate.

"Ren, we dare you," Jaune pronounced grandly. "To dance continuously until your next turn." Ren nodded, stood and began dancing. Ruby turned the music up and they all clapped and cheered him on.

"My turn!" Nora sang, plucking a card from the pile. "Hey, what's the Power Up Potion?"

"I'm so glad you got this one," Yang snatched an empty cup off the desk, poured some of her own drink in and passed it to Weiss.

"Everyone pour a bit of your drink in there and pass it on."

"Then what?" Nora asked.

"Then you drink it,"

"GROSS!" Nora screamed.

"This is so immature," Weiss whined, but poured some of her cooler into the cup anyway, passing it on to Ruby. With some measure of wicked glee, everyone poured a bit of their drink into the cup.

"This isn't very hygienic," Ren said, but danced over and topped up the cup with some of his sake anyway.

The cup was presented to Nora who pinched her nose and swallowed it all at once.

"Urrrgghhh," she shuddered. "Like rotten strawberries. Gahhh!"

"My, my, Velvet. It seems like this is where the real party is," said a smooth voice from the doorway.

They all spun around to find Coco standing in the entrance, striking a pose with one hand on her hip and the other tipping her shades down to take in the circle of half drunk young people and Ren's solo dance-off. A pair of rabbit ears and brown eyes appeared over her shoulder.

"Oh, I love this game," said Velvet.

"Join us," Ruby called.

"Budge over, guys. Make some room." Yang gestured for the circle to shuffle around and let in the other two girls.

"Nice moves!" Velvet complimented Ren.

"And nice outfit," Coco winked at him over her glasses. Nora glared at them both.

"I wish we had known to wear pajamas," Velvet said. "What a great idea."

She and Coco were both dressed like they had intended to have a night out on the town.

"Next time we'll message you," Ruby assured. "We thought you'd be doing something with your own team tonight, sooo. . ."

"Well we were," Coco explained. "But Fox and Yatsuhashi are way too into some homework assignment right now. I'm not sure they even know we're gone." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Whose turn is it."

"Mine, I think," Pyrrha said, and reached for a card. "Ohhh, a queen!"

\----------

Blake had just been compelled to chug her drink, when her scroll chimed. She held it at eye level and answered the video call.

"Sun? What're you doing?"

"Hey, Sun!" Yang slid into the frame next to her.

"Hey! Is all of Team RWBY there?"

Blake turned the screen so Sun could wave to Ruby and Weiss.

"Gang's all here!" Yang exclaimed. "You haven't even met Team JNPR yet, and we've got half of Team CVFY here too!" She moved

Blake's wrist to capture their other friends in the video.

"Oh hey!" Sun waggled his tail over his shoulder at Velvet who twitched her ears in response.

"Who is this shirtless young man?" Coco asked.

"That's Sun," Blake said. "Sun, why are you calling me? And are you in a shower?"

"Yeah, well. I lost strip poker, and then I wasn't feeling super good, so I came in here, and I thought, you know, I like Blake, maybe talking to Blake will make me feel better? Or something?"

"Sun, are you drunk?" Blake asked wearily.

"No, you're drunk."

"Yeah, that's true but. . ."

"Wait, is he _naked_?" Weiss hissed.

"SUN!" A voice exclaimed through the speaker of Blake's scroll. "What the fuck are you doing, you idiot? Give me that scroll right now! Sorry girls, he'll call you when he's sober." The video disappeared.

They all stared at each other for a moment. Weiss was holding her face in both hands and slowly shaking her head.

"So uh. . . anyway. . ." Jaune said.

\----------

"Never have I ever," Jaune slurred. "Um, never have I ever. . . ." He looked around the room and frowned. "Never have I ever kissed a boy," he announced triumphantly.

Pyrrha, Yang and Blake drank.

"I thought that would be more of you," he admitted.

"What a bunch of virgins," Yang stage whispered to Blake. Yang had reached a point of drunkenness where one of her eyes had turned red, while the other remained violet. She seemed happy and relaxed enough that no one was especially concerned about this. Though, perhaps they were too drunk to be concerned. Each of Blake's cheeks was marred by a large pink splotch.

"Not really my style, kiddo," Coco told Jaune.

"What?" Jaune squinted at her. "Oh, you mean like Blake's book."

"The one Ren was reading earlier?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. That one." Jaune nodded vigorously. "I read it. This afternoon. Cover to cover, I will have you know. And let me tell you something. There was not one man in that entire book. Not one." He reached past Nora to grab Ren by the lapel of his robe and pull him nearer to whisper anxiously, "I don't think they even need us, Ren. For _anything._"

Ren sighed, sat up from where he had nearly fallen into Nora's lap, and straightened his robe. "I really am going to have to give you The Talk, aren't I?" His voice was full of dread.

"Much as I would like to be a fly on the wall during that," Coco interrupted. "Which book are we talking about."

"It was _Dust and Black Lace,_" Blake admitted.

"Ohh, a classic," Coco toasted Blake with her cup.

"I just like a bit of variety in my reading," Blake muttered to the carpet, cheeks turning even pinker.

"Variety is good, I think?" Ruby was trying to help, but was feeling somewhat out of her depth now.

Yang looked from Blake, to Coco, to the bookshelf, back at Blake and then poured tequila straight from the bottle into her mouth.

"Okay, um, moving on," Weiss suggested.

\----------

"There we were in the middle of the night," Nora began, unsteadily. She and Ren were leaning on each other, shoulder to shoulder, as though they would topple over without the support. Nine pairs of glassy eyes swivelled to Ren.

He gave them a wobbly nod, "It actually was night this time."

"I had been picking berries and stumbled into a nest of . . um. . .what are they called? Grimm."

Everyone took an obligatory drink.

"Why were you picking berries at night?" Weiss wondered.

"Cause you find berries, you pick 'em. Duhh," Nora explained. She then belched uproariously. "Anyway, so there's like at least thirty or forty Grimm. Just Grimm, everywhere. Everywhere I looked, Grimm."

Ren had closed his eyes but held up six fingers for the sake of honesty. Everyone drank again, three times.

"So I'm surrounded by all these Grimm (drink), and I'd left Magnhild (drink) back at camp, so I'm gonna have to fight these Grimm (drink) with my bare hands, right? On account of not having Magnhild (drink)."

She went on to tell a deeply embellished and drunkenly meandering story which involved throat punching an ursa and choking a beowolf to death with its own tale, while Ren had apparently been leaping from tree to tree, guns blazing. Throughout the story, she managed to use the word Grimm so many times and make so many references to the missing Magnhild that by the end Blake was sprawled on the floor, looking a little cross eyed.

"I move that we ignore those cards from now on. That one's dangerous." Blake groaned.

"Seconded," said Velvet who was crackling with Aura and gulping ice water.

\----------

"Sing us a song, Jaune," Ruby prompted.

"Yeah or do us a shot," Yang tried to offer him her half finished bottle of tequila, but missed and elbowed Blake in the head.

"Oh, I know a good song," Jaune offered. He was now wearing Pyrrha's red nightshirt while she sat beside him in the obnoxious duck onesie looking both uncomfortable and slightly pleased.

Jaune took a deep breath and belted out, "WE'LL SWIM THROUGH LAKES AND CLIMB UP TREES, CATCH FISH, BUGS, BEARS AND HONEYBEES! THERE'S ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES, AND NO, THAT'S NOT HYPERBO-"

"STOP!" Weiss screamed. "Good grief, never do that again."

"Yeah, Jaune, we love you, but please never do that again," Ruby said weakly, from where she had flopped over onto Weiss' legs.

Yatsuhashi and Fox stuck their heads through the half open door.

"We were worried someone was being murdered in here?" Fox said.

"Jaune came close," Velvet laughed.

"Have you two been here the whole time?" Yatsuhashi demanded. "We've been looking everywhere for you two. The bars will close in less than two hours and we still have to get to Vale."

"Better get going then," Coco got to her feet. "Thanks for the pre-game, kids."

\----------

Weiss had pulled a seven of spades and declared that for a full round, no one could use their hands for anything. Pyrra was struggling to open a new drink bottle without touching it. Normally it would be easy for her to twist the cap off and cause it to levitate away from the bottle, but it kept jittering and twisting the wrong way, the metal slowly warping out of shape.

"Guys look," she said. "My semblance doesn't work right when I'm drunk, I can't control it properly."

"I wanna try!" Nora snatched up one of the steel chopsticks that Weiss had earlier been using to eat cheetos and charged towards an outlet.

"NORA, NO!" A green and pink blur shot across the room, tackling her to the floor. She squealed and wiggled as Ren pried the chopstick out of her hand.

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT SEMBLANCE?!" Yang roared, tongues of fire leaping about her hair like a dangerous halo.

"That, um . . . that is your semblance," Ruby squeaked. Yang took a deep breath and made a visible effort to calm down. Her right eye remained red, but the left shifted back to purple.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"Isn't that interesting though," Pyrrha said. "I didn't realize that happened."

"That's why you can't actually buy alcohol until you're twenty one," Weiss pointed out, giving Yang a sharp look. "They figure by then most people have good control over their semblance, or at least know what it is and how not to use it by accident."

"Okay, but now I kind of want to know what happens. . ."

"Okay, how about this," Blake suggested. "Nora, Ruby and Yang are the most danger to themselves and others. No semblance for them tonight."

"Ahh man," Nora whined.

"Nora, please" Ren implored.

"Oh, okay fine. If you say so," Nora pouted slightly but settled down.

"We already know that Pyrrha has the same kind of difficulty with her drunk semblance that one has talking or walking," Blake continued.

"What about the rest of us?"

Suddenly she was on the other side of the room, but also sitting on the carpet. Except the Blake sitting on the carpet looked off somehow. Features a little lopsided, limbs slightly out of proportion, like she had been sculpted by someone who was new to the art. The real Blake

clapped her hands over her mouth and everyone burst into laughter.

"It gets worse the longer you look at it," Weiss said weakly, leaning against Yang who was laughing uncontrollably.

"My turn," Weiss turned her hand up and summoned a glyph. Instead of the usual black or white snowflake shape, this one was an amorphous blob and swirled with numerous colors."What does that mean?" Weiss wondered aloud, watching the malformed glyph spin in a lopsided rotation. She let it go when it started to make her dizzy.

"Ren, you try!" Ruby encouraged.

"We would need Grimm to know if mine is working or not," he frowned.

"Nah, you can feel it working," Ruby said. "Everything seems to get smoother and duller colored. I think things even slow down a little."

"It's like everything is a little muffled," Pyrrha agreed.

"Okay," Ren laid his hand on Nora's head. Nora jerked away almost immediately, shuddering.

"Nope," she declared. "That's like ice water down the back."

"Well this is good to know," Blake said.

"See, Weiss," Ruby cried. "We're doing research! We're learning things!"

Weiss smacked her face into the palm of her hand and grumbled something that sounded like, "insufferable."

"Look, I've got an ace," Blake waved the card. "Everyone drink up!"

"That's how we got into this mess," Ren mumbled, tipping sake into his mouth.

\----------

"Hey, last card," Ruby picked it up. "Aw, it's the joker. Jaune you have to drink again."

Jaune was hanging upside down from Yang's bunk and tried to drink from the straw in his cup which was on the floor beside him. He ended up coughing and spluttering wildly as the drink went up his nose.

"Are you okay, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked. She was sitting on the floor next to him. She was wearing one bunny slipper and he was still wearing the other.

"Pyrrha," he slurred dreamily when he had regained his voice. "Have I ever told you your red hair is so pretty?" He reached for the end of the red ponytail which hung over her shoulder.

"What did I say about hands?" Yang shouted from across the room where she had been setting up cartoons on the console screen.

"You know who has great hair, is Ren," Nora gushed. "Look!" Without warning she yanked the tie out of his hair and shook it so it fell around his shoulders.

Yang, who had a deep appreciation of great hair, froze in her tracks. "Damn, Ren! Why do you wear it tied back like that?"

"I don't like it to get in the way," he explained.

"Why not cut it?" Ruby asked, twisting her own short hair around her finger.

Nora covered Ren's ears protectively with her hands. "Don't you ever say something like that to him again!" she shrieked. "It's so pretty," she went back to running her hands through his hair. "Know what, I'm gonna braid it."

"Oh, let me help." Jaune scurried off the bunk. "I'm super good at braiding hair. Remember that, Snow Angel." He winked at Weiss who didn't seem to hear or notice. She was sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes

"Pig tails, it is!" Sang Nora, passing half of Ren's hair to Jaune.

Blake and Yang were sitting in front of the TV, legs out in front of them, propped up on their hands, laughing at a pair of singing cartoon cats. Ruby had found a package of mini cookies which she was feeding to a very drunk Weiss as they laid on the floor next to each other on the other side of the room.

"Weiss, I gotta level with ya," Ruby said. "I never drank before tonight. Not even a little. And I'm so so drunk. Like. Just really drunk."

"I thought this was partly your idea," Weiss groaned.

"Yeah, well I didn't think I'd be this drunk. Crazy how that just kinda happens, huh?"

"I never really drank either." Weiss confessed. "In my family it's not. . .good. . .the drinking."

"Mine neither," Ruby said. "But this is nice. I feel nice. I can't really see right, or sit up, but I feel warm and fuzzy and sleepy, and also you're here, and it's nice."

"I feel nice too."

"Nice Weiss," Ruby said happily. "It rhymes."

"Shut up, dolt!"

"Oh, no. Ice Weiss is back." Ruby dropped another cookie into Weiss's mouth. "You know what. I don't think he feels like this when he drinks. My uncle. I think he's sad and stuff. And drinking doesn't make him happy and fuzzy. I think he just gets drunk so he can confuse himself into thinking that the hurt is outside him instead of inside him. Or something."

"Yeah, same with mom," Weiss sighed.

"Where is Pyrrha?" Ren suddenly asked.

"She went to the bathroom a while ago," Blake frowned at the bathroom door.

"Oh hell no," Yang grumbled, starting to rise unsteadily to her feet.

"Don't worry, I've got it," Nora abandoned Ren's hair and went to knock on the bathroom door, leaving Jaune to begin winding the braids into a crown.

\----------

"Oh Pyrrha, no!" Nora moaned, rushing to her friend's side. Pyrrha was curled up into a tiny ball in the bottom of the bathtub, sobbing softly into the sleeve of her borrowed onesie.

"Come on, get up, I've got you." Nora helped her out of the tub and set her on the tile floor, sitting down next to her. "Did you get sick?"

Pyrrha shook her head and buried her face in Nora's shoulder.

"Is it Jaune?" Nora asked, cradling her friend in her arms. Pyrrha nodded against her shoulder, tears seeping through her t-shirt.

"Oh Pyrrha, you've gotta tell him how you feel. He thinks you're out of his league."

"He's not wrong," Yang had stumbled into the bathroom. "If he turned you down, well, he'd be even dumber than he looks."

"What, Weiss isn't out of his league?" Pyrrha laughed bitterly.

"Not in the way he thinks you are," Yang shrugged, sitting on Pyrrha's other side, taking her hand.

"See, to him Weiss is a pretty girl, a little unattainable maybe, and that's why he acts so weird around her, cause he knows that he doesn't really have a shot, but that it's maybe still within the realm of possibility," Nora explained. "But you're like a hero from a story book. He wouldn't even think of it cause you know he already has issues with being worthy and stuff."

"Yeah," Pyrrha sighed. "I wish he could see what I see."

"What do you see?" Yang asked gently.

"He's kind and funny and sweet. He always puts his friends before himself. I don't know. . . everyone puts me on this untouchable pedestal, and I thought that to him, I was just. . . a girl, you know."

"Pyrrha," Yang squeezed her hand. "Some of us can never 'just' be girls. I hope you'll come to see that that's not a bad thing."

"How come you yelled at him earlier for trying to touch my hair?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because," Yang explained. "He's drunk, and kind of a moron, and doesn't realize how much power he has to hurt you. Not that he would want to hurt you, but he would do something dumb like that, thinking it was just a gesture between friends, and not realize that to you something so simple could mean much more."

Pyrrha looked from one of her friends to the other, then lifted her arms and hugged them both close. She laughed shakily. "I'm just drunk you guys. Sometimes I get sad and weepy when I get drunk. I'm okay."

"Do you wanna go back out?" Nora asked. Pyrrha nodded and wiped her eyes.

"Let's get you fixed up," Yang ran cold water onto a towel and began wiping Pyrrha's face and patting her swollen eyelids. Between the two of them, Nora and Yang carried Pyrrha out into the room, and laid her in front of the TV. Nora cradled Pyrrha's head in her lap, while her feet rested on Yang's leg. Seeing them, Blake jumped up to grab some water for Pyrrha and help her drink it.

Jaune had parked Ren in front of the mirror. "No, look," he was saying, "I left that pink bit free on purpose so it frames your face and brings out the color of your eyes."

"So it does," Ren said.

"Pyrrha!" he noticed the girls' reflections as they settled on the ground behind him. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"No, not really sick, Jaune," Pyrrha said, eyes closed. "Just drunk and losing touch with reality."

Jaune started towards her but Ren caught his shoulder. "For someone with seven sisters, you're kind of dense about girls," Ren whispered. He sat down beside Nora and pulled Jaune down with him.

They all sat in companionable, drunken silence for a while, leaning together, watching the late night movies with unfocused eyes, the three girls comforting Pyrrha, the boys slumped against the side of Weiss's mattress, and on the other side of the room, Weiss and Ruby still whispered together and giggled occasionally.

At one point Jaune was sure he heard Ruby whisper, "Oh gosh, Weiss! I've just realized what Ren's little buddies are!." Followed by the soft sound of Weiss thumping her head against the carpet.

\----------

It was in the small hours of the morning, shortly before dawn, when Yang noticed that the room looked like the inside of a doll house which had been abandoned suddenly by a child called for dinner. Except for Nora, who was still sitting upright and seemed reasonably alert, her friends were strewn about the floor as if dropped there, limbs splayed in all directions. Blake had fallen asleep against Yang's shoulder and was beginning to drool onto her collarbone. Carefully setting Pyrrha's legs down on the floor, she lifted her partner and reached up to place her on the top bunk. She pulled a blanket over her and gently readjusted her bow so her ears no longer peaked out. Nora bundled a deeply sleeping Pyrrha into Yang's bed.

"Ruby?" Yang went to check on her sister and found her and Weiss laying head to head on the floor, both snoring softly. When Yang lifted Ruby to put her in bed, Weiss' hand shot out to grab Ruby's wrist, her eyes opening to glare balefully at Yang for a moment before seeming to realize where she was and what was happening. She stood on wobbly legs, and followed Yang, climbing clumsily into the lopsided upper bunk beside Ruby with a boost from a very amused Nora. She pulled the covers over herself and Ruby, muttering something that sounded like, "So many crumbs," and then began snoring again.

"Come on, Ren, up you get," Nora nudged Ren with her foot, where he had collapsed slumped against the edge of Weiss' bunk. He jerked awake, looked around for a minute and then fell back to sleep immediately. Beside him, Jaune was sleeping with the upper half of his body under the bunk. "Goofs," Nora sighed, haphazardly throwing a blanket over both of them.

"Looks like it's just you and me," Yang settled back down on the floor, lying on her stomach, propped on her elbows in front of the tv, which was now playing a cheesy superhero movie. Nora settled down beside her, mimicking the pose.

"You've gotta quit doing that, you know," Yang finally said. "Giving the stink eye to anyone that tries to get even a little close to Ren. Velvet and Coco aren't trying to come between you and him, you know that."

"I know," Nora groaned. "He's just a good dancer, and Coco appreciates clothes. It's just hard not to, you know."

"Why?"

"Because it hurts to think one day he'll meet some girl or whatever." Nora whispered, looking uncharacteristically downtrodden. "I care about him more than anyone, and I want him to be happy, but I don't know if I can watch him look at some girl and see everything he's never seen in me."

"That's just never going to happen," Yang snorted. She had been beginning to realize that Ren and Nora's friendship looked very different from the outside looking in than it did to either of them. She remembered how earlier that day in the store, Ren had made a beeline for all of Nora's favorite snacks, even buying a bottle of syrup, and imagined that watching these two try to sort this thing out was going to be drawn out and frustrating for everyone.

"I don't really expect you to get it," Nora explained. "You've probably got guys throwing themselves at your feet."

"I don't really care about any of them, though," Yang shrugged. "But you're right, I don't think I can totally get it. The most important person in my life is Ruby and I've wanted her to make new friends and grow and branch out. It's totally different."

Nora looked at her sidelong for a minute and then said, "One day you'll get it. Everyone goes through it at some point. Wanting someone but there being too much history between you, too many other feelings, for you to be able to just come out and say it."

"Suppose I will," Yang agreed.

"Never tell anyone I admitted that," Nora demanded.

"Everyone knows, Nora." Yang said. "But I won't repeat it."

"Ren doesn't know," Nora whispered, tone unusually serious.

"Team JNPR is kind of a mess, huh?" Yang asked.

Nora snorted. "Between me and Ren, and Jaune and Pyrrha, we might as well be a bad soap opera. Think about it, Yang." Suddenly she was giggling.

"Oh no, you're right," Yang giggled too. "Oh, poor Pyrrha though. Jaune is so stupid, I really can't believe it. I mean," she leaned a little closer to Nora and whispered. "Imagine choosing Weiss over Pyrrha."

"You uh, kind of have a point," Nora conceded. "Though, in his defense, I honestly don't think he even realizes that Pyrrha is a choice."

"Never tell anyone I said that about Weiss," Yang said. "Weiss is my team mate, practically my sister, but she's. . .you know, Weiss."

"I have, in fact, met Weiss," Nora declared. "And Pyrrha. Hmmm, maybe Jaune is into that kind of bossy thing. I'll tell Pyrrha to push him around a bit more during their practice sessions." Suddenly they were both laughing into their pillows, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"She's got to tell him though," Nora mused, looking towards the red ponytail trailing over the edge of Yang's bunk.

"Uhh, maybe try practicing what you preach," Yang challenged.

"It's different!"

"Sure, sure," Yang waved her off, half apologetically. "This night went well," She changed the subject.

"Yeah, sometimes it's nice to have fun where you don't risk your life," Nora thought for a minute. "Sometimes."

"I mean, Jaune's singing put our lives at risk," Yang joked.

"Another minute of that and I would have been out the window," Nora laughed. "It's good spending time with all of you though. Good to have friends, teammates, like a little family, you know. Ren and I have no family, no real home either. Nice to feel like we finally belong somewhere."

"Damn right, you do," Yang bumped Nora with her shoulder. "You're one of us now."

Nora was silent for a second and then said, "Team RWBY is weird too. You and Ruby are both so happy and kind, you reach out to everyone. Blake and Weiss are both kind of, I don't know, edgy maybe? Stand-offish? Even with each other sometimes."

"They're beginning to soften up," Yang told her. "But they've both got, you know, a lot of baggage."

"Good grief," Nora laughed. "What if someone made a TV show about all of us. It would be so dramatic."

"Would have some great fight scenes though," Yang enthused.

"The first time I met you, you caught fire for a second," Nora laughed.

"You had just rode an Ursa into the clearing!" Yang pointed out. "I was about to lose my mind!"

"I'm glad to have a friend like you, Yang," Nora admitted. "It's not easy to be the strongest girl around. Never mind the loudest, or the most. . .out there."

"You're telling me," Yang agreed. They bumped their fists together.

"What you were saying to Pyrrha in the bathroom," Nora said. "About how some girls can never be "just girls." I think that applies to all of us. Like you said, Weiss and Blake have a lot going on. You and me and Ruby are probably the closest to regular girls, but you and me, I'm not sure there's many people who can keep up with us in almost anything. I think regular people would find us exhausting. We're what one of my old teachers called 'too much'"

"Oh definitely," Yang agreed. "Girls like you and me are born huntresses. We need an outlet for our energy, need to be around people who are used to life being kind of wild."

"Huntress or a rock star," Nora exclaimed, grinning broadly.

"Exactly," Yang continued. "But don't assume too much about Ruby. She's young and awkward now, but one day she's gonna surprise you."

Nora nodded. "So what's next, Yang? Day one of reading week is a mission success. What's Day Two?"

Yang cast her eyes around the room full of sleeping friends and teammates. "I think we'll need to let them rest," she frowned.

"Early morning jog?" Nora asked.

"It's early morning now," Yang pointed out.

"Jog now?" Nora amended.

"Why not? I don't feel like sleeping anyway," Yang got up to find athletic gear. "Meet you in the courtyard."

\----------

"It's morning, it's morning, IT'S MORNING," Nora trilled to a dorm room full of sleeping young people.

"Nora, that's just evil," Yang laughed. "You'd better get up though, they're only serving lunch for another hour."

"LUNCH?" Weiss' head shot up, hair standing out in tangles around her head like a rain cloud. She attempted to roll out of bed hurriedly, and Ruby had to grab her to keep her from falling to the floor.

"Yeah, Weiss, it's well past noon," Yang explained. "Nora and I sobered up with a run, had breakfast, got in some weapons training and a short power nap. It's been a very productive day."

"Perky, energetic weirdos," Jaune's voice grumbled from under the bed.

"You both disgust me," Blake groaned.

"Ruby, why am I in your bed?" Weiss demanded.

"Don't know, Weiss," Ruby said sleepily. "Last thing I remember was feeding you cookies. Maybe I fed you so many cookies you finally realized that we're destined to be besties."

"You did insist on following her up there," Yang supplied.

"I was drunk!" Weiss exclaimed.

"We were all drunk," Ren groaned, his face hidden in his hands. "And I think I had a dream that we were on a boat, because the room is still rocking back and forth."

"No, silly, that's a hangover," Nora laughed.

Pyrrha rolled out of Yang's bed, and headed for the bathroom, stopping dead as she passed the mirror.

"Jaune!"

There was a loud and sickening thud as Jaune's head made contact with the bottom of Weiss' bunk. He shimmied out, wincing, and squinted at Pyrrha. Pyrrha's ponytail was lopsided and tangled, she was wearing an obnoxiously lime green onesie and one bunny slipper.

"Oh gods, I forgot about this," Jaune groaned, looking down at the red nightshirt which had twisted around his legs to reveal red and white polka dot boxer shorts. Pyrrha burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that tears ran down her face and she had to lean against the wall. Ruby, leaning over Weiss, snapped a picture of them both with her scroll.

"Come on, guys," Yang reminded them. "Gotta eat. Cafeteria in ten minutes, let's go."

She and Nora, hurried down the hall, leaving their hungover friends to sort themselves out.

\----------

They filed into the cafeteria one by one, dressed now in their usual clothing. Ren's hair was still arranged in a slightly disheveled braid crown, he was wearing Yang's sunglasses and sipping from a large jar of thick green liquid. Blake had dark circles under her eyes, and Weiss hadn't bothered to tie her hair up again. She had however, taken great care to retie Blake's bow for her. Ruby had her hood pulled up and leaned sleepily against Yang at the table. Jaune had a large bump emerging on the top of his head that he made them all feel. Pyrrha seemed unable to stop giggling but was otherwise back to her usual self. It was a quiet meal, but in a comfortable, sleepy kind of way.

\----------

Back upstairs, Ren put the coffee pot on and they all draped themselves over the couches in the common room. Team CVFY, looking equally worse for wear, shuffled in to join them. They flicked through several channels on TV, before settling on one with mindless reality shows.

"That dress is hideous," Coco wrinkled her nose, watching the young woman on the screen try on a horribly poofy disaster of a wedding dress.

"She needs something that fits her chest better," Yang agreed.

"Not everyone can wear white," Weiss sighed.

"Shut up, Weiss," Blake and Weiss had squashed themselves into one armchair for reasons which no one else understood. "White isn't even a color."

"Neither is black," Weiss quipped.

"Nobody wears a black wedding dress."

"You would wear a black wedding dress."

"Yeah, I guess I would."

"Oh, no." Jaune groaned. "Now she's going to try a mermaid cut. I have seven sisters; brides are never comfortable in a mermaid cut."

Ren, who was laying on the floor with his legs propped up against the side of the couch supposedly to improve circulation, nudged Nora with his foot. "That one would look good on you."

Nora turned beet red.

"Oh, look, now they're putting the veil on her!" Ruby squeaked excitedly. "Oh, she's crying."

"Probably because of the price tag," Blake snorted.

"Couture doesn't come cheap," Coco huffed. "Like weapons, you get what you pay for."

"I wonder if you could have a weaponized wedding dress," Ruby's eyes lit up. "Or a wedding dress for a weapon."

"You actually do want to marry Crescent Rose, don't you?" Weiss accused. Ruby hugged the folded scythe and stuck out her tongue.

\----------

They had been lounging and recovering for a few hours when Weiss piped up, "I'll admit, last night was a lot of fun. But, can we not let Yang plan the rest of our Reading Week? I don't think I'll survive."

"We should probably do some actual reading," reasoned Ren, now sitting cross legged on the floor.

"Just not Blake's kind of reading," Ruby snickered.

"Don't knock it til you try it," Jaune told her.

"Jaune," said Yang dangerously. "What exactly are you saying to my baby sister."

"Shhh, Yang, don't worry," Ruby bounded off the couch. "Leave it to me, you guys. I have some great ideas for the rest of the week!"

"I'm not sure that this is better," Blake whispered to Weiss.

"Gods help us," Weiss replied as Ruby ran out of the room in search of a binder.


End file.
